PHOENIX — This was bound to happen at some point. It just materialized earlier than expected this season.
On Saturday night, with the Clippers trying to rally from a double-digit deficit against the pesky Suns, Doc Rivers subbed Kawhi Leonard out for 2 1/2 minutes midway through the fourth quarter. The Clippers lost to the Suns, 130-122, with their porous defense far more to blame than Leonard’s brief absence.
But Rivers’ decision to bench Leonard and then bring him back in once the game appeared out of reach was met with skepticism and criticism on social media. Load management is still a polarizing subject on NBA Twitter.
Leonard is on a minutes limit to start the season? Resting in crunch time of the third game of the season? Why?!
Before the game, Rivers, who initially said ahead of the season-opener against the Lakers that Leonard wouldn’t be on a minutes restriction to start the regular season, danced around the topic…
